Posted: Sat, Dec 16, 2017, 11:14 AM ET (1614 GMT)
An Ariane 5 launched four Galileo satellites Tuesday, bringing the navigation system closer to completion. The Ariane 5 launched at 1:36 pm EDT (1836 GMT) from Kourou, French Guiana, and released the four satellites into medium Earth orbits several hours later. With the launch, there are now 22 Galileo satellites in orbit, although four are not currently in use. The launch was also the 11th and final mission of 2017 for Arianespace.